Along with Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, Edward Yang was one of the leading auteurs of Taiwan's New Wave Cinema. Yang, who died in 2007, was considered one of the most talented filmmakers of his generation and though most of his titles never made it the U.S., he was respected by film buffs and the darling of critics at international festivals. Now Yang's third feature "The Terrorizers" (1986) — released in Taiwan as "Kongbu Fenzi" and Japan as "Kyofu Bunshi" — has undergone a major digital overhaul and is being rereleased locally.

"The Terrorizers" is a masterpiece, reflecting Yang's vision of a newly emerging Taiwan swayed by the forces of money and globalization. It first opened here in 1996, when Japan still retained a whiff of the bubble economy, and while business was good in Taipei. But in both Tokyo and Taipei, many youths were disillusioned and full of foreboding about a future that seemed crassly materialistic. Yang had always been adept at picking up such vibes and weaving them into a mysterious, poetic narrative.

In "The Terrorizers," the young characters are well-off, with liberal/Westernized values, but they can't keep up with a society that's rapidly becoming more complex and emotionally chaotic. A crank call from a young half-Caucasian woman to a photographer's apartment sets off a chain of events that tragically affect the lives of total strangers.